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Taylor Swift fans are selling their tickets for the singer’s next run of London shows – just days after a foiled terror plot at the Vienna leg of the Eras Tour.
Despite the immense popularity of the concerts, which Austrian officials expected to be attended by 65,000 people within the stadium itself and a further 30,000 outside, some fans may have thought twice about attending after a suspect in the foiled plot said he wanted “to kill as many people as possible”.
Ticket resell website Viagogo now has dozens of tickets for London dates listed for prices between £500 to as much as £5,000.
A significant amount of tickets for the typically sold-out shows have also become available on Ticketmaster.
One Taylor Swift fan revealed on Twitter/X that they had been left so frightened by the foiled plot that they will not even step foot in the capital, let alone Wembley Stadium, where the concerts are taking place.
They wrote: “Having to cancel my trip to London to see Taylor Swift because people can’t just not be a**holes is insane, my anxiety won’t even let me think of stepping foot in London and even worse the stadium.”
A second similarly shared: “It’s so easy for me to just cancel my weekend rn that’s how unsafe I feel, but then I think of all the money I’ve spent and I’m just trying to put a bit of faith in the security .” [sic]
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said the city will “carry on” to host the five shows between the 15th and 20th of August after the American superstar’s Vienna dates were cancelled on Wednesday.
The cancellation followed the arrest of two teenagers, aged 19 and 17, on Tuesday and the questioning of a 15-year-old in connection to the terror plot.
The 19-year-old is reported to be the main suspect in the case and had previously pledged allegiance to the current leader of the Islamic State online.
Materials to produce a bomb were discovered in his home, while evidence of support for the terrorist group Al-Qaeda was found in the other suspect’s.
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer defended the decision to cancel the shows but acknowledged fans’ disappointment.
“I understand very well that those who wanted to experience the concert live are very sad,” Nehammer said at a press conference.
“Mums and dads are looking after their daughters and sons, who were full of enthusiasm and anticipation for this concert. But it’s also important that in such serious moments as now, it’s inevitable that safety comes first.”
Authorities announced today that a third suspect, aged 18, had been arrested last night in connection with the plot.
The foiled terror plot – in which the main suspect planned to commit suicide with explosives – comes after 22 people, including children, lost their lives in a similar incident at an Ariana Grande concert in 2017.
Swift expressed her concern about playing to large audiences in the wake of the Manchester Arena incident.
“I was completely terrified to go on [the Lover Tour] this time because I didn’t know how we were going to keep 3 million fans safe over seven months,” she told Elle magazine in 2019.
“There was a tremendous amount of planning, expense, and effort put into keeping my fans safe.”
But while some fans have decided not to attend shows, others have admitted that despite being frightened, they will still attend.
Lorelei Petchu, president of the Taylor Swift society at University College London, told Reuters: “Last night I was panicking a little bit. We did consider selling our tickets, but we calmed down.
“We have seen the statements that have been put out and are feeling good about going again.”
Another undeterred fan said they are convinced that the upcoming London shows will be even safer now.
“Security is gonna be ramped up even more now [and] be safer than it would have been,” they wrote on Twitter/X.
“Don’t let them win by scaring us in to not living our lives [and] don’t miss out on this experience if you can go!”
Other social media users expressed their hope that security will be tight at the upcoming concerts.
“I sincerely hope that security for the upcoming Taylor Swift concerts is on high alert,” one Twitter/X user wrote to the official Downing Street account.
The Independent has reached out to Viagogo and a representative for Taylor Swift for comment.
